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Con
Art
CATCH ME IF YOU CAN: Directed by Steven Spielberg. Written by Jeff Nathanson. Based on the book by Frank W. Abagnale, with Stan Redding. Produced by Steven Spielberg, Walter F. Parkes. Executive producers, Barry Kemp, Laurie MacDonald, Michel Shane, Tony Romano. Cinematography, Janusz Kaminski. Production design, Jeannine Oppewall. Editor, Michael Kahn. Costumes, Mary Zophres. Music, John Williams. Titles by Kuntzel+Deygas. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks and Christopher Walken, with Martin Sheen, Nathalie Baye, Amy Adams, Jennifer Garner. DreamWorks, 2002. PG-13. 140 minutes.
The opening credits are noteworthy, not because they are both clever and elegant, but also because they announce this will be a mainstream film with offbeat, quirky characters but impeccable production values. Steven Spielberg is nothing if not thorough in these matters. A certain insouciance carries over from the title sequence to a scene on the set of a television show called "To Tell the Truth." Here panelists such as Kitty Carlisle try to guess who is the real Frank Abagnale Jr. among three contestants. The host narrates the relevant facts: Abagnale successfully impersonated a teacher, a major airline recruiter and co-pilot, a pediatrician and an assistant district attorney. He forged fraudulent checks and identity papers. He spent some $2 million that wasn't his, and he accomplished all this before his 19th birthday. Spielberg's second chase film this year after Minority Report marks a return to the genre that made him famous — Duel, Sugarland Express and the Indiana Jones fantasies. Catch Me If You Can lends itself wholeheartedly to the genre, and Leonardo DiCaprio plays Abagnale as the most charming of scoundrels, a young man with one eye on the main chance and the other on the girl. A few darling girls attach themselves to him like James Bond's playmates, but none is cuter than a hospital candy-striper sporting a mouthful of metal, Brenda Strong (Amy Adams). Young Frank loses his heart to her. Or so we think. For we are as vulnerable to Frank's endearing traits as Brenda and Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks), the FBI special agent assigned to tracking down the "paperhanger" responsible for outsmarting the banks, the airlines, a hospital and his prospective father in-law (Martin Sheen). Abagnale's parents, Frank Sr. (Christopher Walken) and Paula (Nathalie Baye), want different things from life. Paula, a WWII French war bride, wants more excitement than does her laconic shop owner husband. Frank Sr. gets in trouble with the IRS for not paying his taxes and tries to sue them for years. The middle-class dream crumbles when his parents split up. Young Frank badly wants to make things right for dad, but it's clear to us that this apple has not fallen far from the family tree. It's a real advantage to not to be a man in his 20s when it comes to reviewing to the work of actors such as DiCaprio, who hasn't heard a kind word from some critics since What's Eating Gilbert Grape. It's rewarding to see DiCaprio select demanding roles in Gangs of New York and Catch Me If You Can in the same year. While he stretches to fill Amsterdam's shoes in Gangs, Abagnale is more difficult because he lives in a pre-ironic age, a time when people believed you were who you said you were, when decency was a way of life for most people. This isn't a self-referential, postmodern film, as Gangs is, although the Scorsese film is a more important picture. Like the 1960s pre-counterculture society that is its home, Catch Me is about the appearance of things. Unlike the surface pleasures of Far From Heaven, which yield surprises with every viewing, this conventional narrative film could have been made in the early '60s. It celebrates the "innocence" of an era fueled by the longest peace-time boom in American history. It was a time when the right car, the cool clothes, the best hotel was evidence of a good life; when secret passions stayed secret; and when one did not dwell on (or even recognize) those who were wronged. Highly recommended, Catch Me If You Can is now playing at Cinema World and Cinemark.
Guns
and Culture
BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE: Documentary written, produced and directed by Michael Moore. Produced by Kathleen Glynn, Jim Czarnecki, Charles Bishop, Michael Donovan. Executive producer, Wolfram Tichy. Camera, Brian Danitz, Michael McDonough. Sound, Francisco Latorre, James Demer. Original music, Jeff Gibbs. Animation, Harold Moss. Chief archivist, Carl Deal. With Michael Moore, Dick Clark, Charlton Heston, James Nichols, Marilyn Manson, John Nichols and Matt Stone. United Artists, 2002. R. 119 minutes.
Confrontational tactics are nothing new to self-taught filmmaker and muckraker Michael Moore. From his earliest television days (the hilarious 1992 "TV Nation") and films (Roger and Me, 1989), Moore has loved to get up close and personal with some of the rich men of American industry (such as General Motors Chairman Roger Smith and Nike's Phil Knight), putting them on edge while videotaping every move and facial expression. His reputation for bullying precedes him in Bowling for Columbine. He castigates a woman K-Mart employee for selling the bullets that killed and injured students in the Columbine school shooting. He produces two young men victims and urges them to pull up their shirts and show off their bullet marks. The second day Moore and the kids return, a professional spokesperson for the company takes the wind out of Moore's superiority by announcing that K-Mart would no longer sell automatic weapon ammunition in any of its stores. This was the first and only time Moore was speechless in the film. He seemed stunned, maybe even disappointed. Bowling for Columbine raises interesting questions about Americans and our culture of violence. Moore makes the point that viewers are manipulated by the media showing victims of crime in newspapers on television every day, so that ordinary people are afraid to go out their doors. The government contributes to their fear, and the corporations profit from it But when Moore uses audio and visual images from the Sept. 11 attack in New York, he becomes the manipulator. When he selects inflammatory headlines to batter viewers with, he is using the very tactics he criticizes in others. He exploits the two injured Columbine students, using their physical wounds as proof of his rage. This is entertainment? No, it is a polemic. Worse, it's a bombardment of images and half-truths that leave viewers feeling helpless and hopeless. There is a truth to many of his charges, but rather than build a case carefully and let the facts speak for themselves, Moore generalizes, makes judgments and insults his interviewees, personalizing his grievances. I have no love lost for Charleton Heston. He speaks for a constituency that abuses its power. But he does not personally deserve being called a killer because a 6-year old boy killed a 6-year old girl with a handgun. That's a tragedy that touches each and everyone of us. It's too bad that Moore doesn't connect with the concept of human dignity for everyone, even the corporate bad guys he wants so badly to blame. Moore finds the connection between poverty, health care, immigration policy, housing, unemployment and the culture of violence. It's part of his lengthy comparison between the U.S. and Canada, which is simplistic and probably not even true. I mean, does everyone who lives in Toronto really leave their front doors unlocked? Moore is too busy making half-truths to tackle the hard work of thinking through the issues. He does not question his own methodology. And why should he? He's a demagogue preaching to the converted, a grandstander who makes it be about him, his passion, his anger. OK, I'm sure to get very personal letters as a result of taking this unpopular stand. If you type nicely, stay on topic and within the word limit, I'll run urge the editor to run what you write in Letters. Bowling for Columbine is now playing at the Bijou.
About Schmidt: Jack Nicholson stars in Alexander Payne's (Election) film about a just-retired man who feels adrift. His only daughter, Jeannie (Hope Davis) is about to marry unwisely, and his wife of 42 years dies suddenly. He goes on the road to find himself.. R. Cinemark. Empire: John Leguizamo stars in this tale of a drug dealer getting out of the life for a straight job on Wall Street. But of course it's not simple to live down the past. Great supporting cast includes Peter Sarsgaard, Denise Richards, Ruben Blades, Sonia Braga and Isabella Rossellini. Directed by Franc Reyes. R. Movies 12. Field, The (1990): The late Richard Harris was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in director Jim Sheridan's (My Left Foot) grim tale about working the family land in Ireland after an American buyer (Tom Berenger) shows up. Co-stars Brenda Frickert. At 7 pm on 01/09 in 180 PLC. Free. Peacock's War (1998): Green Beret medic in Vietnam comes home to fight for the grizzly in the North Rockies. Part of the Eco-Videos: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, a nine-week environmental film series sponsored by Cascadia Wildlands Project and UO Survival Center. At 7:30 pm on 01/08 in 100 Willamette. Free. Tuck Everlasting: The story of a teenager (Alexis Bledel) who wants to get away from her mother (Amy Irving). Lost in the woods, she meets a boy named Jesse Tuck (Jonathan Jackson). His family (William Hurt, Sissy Spacek, Scott Bairstow) has a secret spring that makes one immortal, and they're trying to keep it safe from Ben Kingsley. PG. Movies 12. CONTINUING: Bowling for Columbine: Michael Moore takes on America's love for guns in his usual abrasive, in yo' face manner. He covers the Columbine High School shootings, and doesn't let national chain gun sellers off lightly. He also goes toe-to-toe with Charlton Heston, in an abrasive and bullying manner. A major hit documentary at Cannes, it's been rightly challenged for its sloppy journalism in this country. R. Bijou. See review this issue. Catch Me If You Can: Steven Spielberg and Leonardo DiCaprio have fun in this chase movie about Frank Abagnale Jr., an actual con man of the 1960s who passed himself off as a pilot, a doctor, a lawyer and a college professor and forged millions in checks while still in his teens. Christopher Walken plays his father, and Tom Hanks plays the F.B.I. agent determined to capture him. Moments of sweetness and lots of pretty girls. Highly recommended. PG-13. Cinema World. Cinemark. See review this issue. Die Another Day: Pierce Brosnan returns as James Bond for a new mission that takes him to Iceland in this action adventure yarn directed by Lee Tamahori. Costars Halle Berry, John Cleese and Judi Dench, with Rosamund Pike. Evil enemies played by Toby Stephens and Rick Yune. PG-13. Cinemark. Drumline: Directed by Charles Stone, this tale of a talented street drummer from Harlem who goes to a college in the south, expecting to lead its marching band stars Nick Cannon, Zoe Saldana and Orlando Jones. PG-13. Cinemark. Eight Mile: Set on the gritty streets of Detroit, Curtis Hanson's greatly anticipated film stars Eminem in his first screen role, Kim Basinger as his mom. Also, Brittany Murphy, Mekhi Phifer and Taryn Manning. Recommended. R. Movies 12. Online archives. Emperor's Club, The: Kevin Kline plays a dedicated prep school teacher and Emile Hirsch, the son of a powerful senator, is his student. Twenty years later, they meet again. PG-13. Movies 12. Far From Heaven: Director Todd Haynes and cinematographer Edward Lachman deliver an exceptionally beautiful, emotionally resonant film. Excellent performances by Julianne Moore, Dennis Quaid, Dennis Haysbert and Patricia Clarkson. One of the best pictures of the year. Very highest recommendations. PG-13. Bijou. Online archives. Gangs of New York: Martin Scorsese's epic film about New York gangs in the mid-1800s. Leonard DiCaprio plays an Irish Catholic hoodlum seeking vengeance from his father's killer, played by Daniel Day-Lewis as the leader of the Protestant gangsters. Both are caught up in the notorious Civil War draft riots that rock the city. Also stars Cameron Diaz, John C. Reilly and Jim Broadbent. Written by Steven Zaillian, Kenneth Lonergan and Jay Cocks, this is one of the year's great films. Very highest recommendations. R. Cinemark. Cinema World. Online archives. Ghost Ship: Steve Beck's horror film about an ocean liner missing since 1935 that turns up in the Bering Sea. Stars Julianna Margulies, Gabriel Byrne, Ron Eldard and Isaiah Washington. R. Movies 12. Harry Potter: Chamber of Secrets: Again directed by Chris Columbus, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) try to uncover a dark force terrorizing Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. G. Cinema World. Cinemark. Online archives.. Hot Chick: Verbally abusive cheerleader wakes up in the body of Rob Schneider. Yikes! Directed by Tom Brady. PG-13. Cinemark. I Spy 2: CIA super agent (Owen Wilson) and undefeated boxer (Eddie Murphy) hate each other at first sight, but they have to track down a missing stealth bomber. PG-13. Movies 12. Jackass: The Movie: Based on the MTV series, more dangerous and silly stunts. R. Movies 12. Jonah: A Veggietales Movie: Christian-themed direct-to-video franchise goes big screen in this version of Jonah and the Whale. Biblical figures are played by talking vegetables. Directed by Mike Nawrocki and Phil Vischer. G. Movies 12. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers: Directed and re-imagined by Peter Jackson, part two of J.R.R. Tolkien's trilogy follows the ring-bearer Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) deeper into enemy territory, with Gollum (Andy Serkis) as their guide. Meanwhile Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and Gimli (John-Rhys Davies) try to rescue Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd). Many new characters, a surprise return and great battles. Director Peter Jackson's second masterpiece. Very highest recommendations. PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema World. Online archives. Maid in Manhattan: Ralph Fiennes is a well-off politician staying at a swank New York hotel. Jennifer Lopez is a single-mother maid working there. He sees her dressed in a guest's clothing and falls for her, like Richard Gere fell for Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. Not too enlightened nor original an idea. PG-13. Cinema World. Cinemark. My Big Fat Greek Wedding: It's about the 30-year old, unmarried daughter (Nia Vardalos) in a passionate but demanding Greek NY family, who meets the man she to marry (John Corbett), but he isn't Greek. This sweet romantic comedy entertains. Run-away independent hit of 2002!. Recommended. PG. Cinema World. Online archives. Pinocchio: American critics have not been kind to Italian screenwriter, director, star Roberto Benigni's new version of this well-known fairy tale. Rex Reed of the New York Observer said it's "lethal for kids, and an unspeakable insult to adults." Co-stars Nicoletta Braschi and Carlo Giuffré. G. Cinemark. Ram Dass Fierce Grace: Mickey Lemle's documentary biography of Richard Alpert, aka Ram Dass. His friends and family recollect his life, and he tells great anecdotes. But the heart of the film is Ram Dass's work and his openness to change, infirmity and death. Very highest recommendations. NR. Bijou. Online archives. Santa Clause 2: Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) begins looking for the perfect Mrs. Claus, because if he doesn't get married by Christmas Even, he'll stop being Santa forever. G. Cinemark. Signs: Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan and starring Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix in this supernatural thriller about crop circles. Also stars Rory Culkin and Abigail Breslin. PG-13. Movies 12. Online archives. Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams: Robert Rodriguez says his sequel has lots of action, is fun and nobody dies. Stars Antonio Banderas, Daryl Sabara and Alexa Vega. PG. Movies 12. Star Trek: Nemesis: Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the Enterprise face an alien race and some personal clones, including Picard's personal nemesis. Stars Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, Ron Perlman, Tom Hardy. Dir. by Stuart Baird. PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema World. Online archives. Stuart Little 2: Stuart goes to school now, and he has big brother George and baby sister Martha to play with. But a mysterious bird named Margalo involves everyone in an adventure. Voices of Michael J. Fox, Melanie Griffith, Nathan Lane, Geena Davis and more. PG. Movies 12. Sweet Home Alabama: Andy Tennant directs the fabulous Reese Witherspoon in this comedy about a hot fashion designer who returns to the South to get a divorce from scruffy hubby #1 (Josh Lucas) so she can marry rich Patrick Dempsey. PG-13. Movies 12. Treasure Planet: Robert Louis Stevenson's classic adventure set on a spaceship that runs into hazards like black holes and supernovas. Animated film directed by Ron Clements and John Musker includes voices of Emma Thompson and Martin Short. PG. Cinemark. Tuxedo, The: PG-13. Jackie Chan's a limo driver who borrows his boss' tux only to discover that it's a high-tech killing machine. With Jennifer Love Hewitt and Peter Stormare. PG-13. Movies 12. Two Weeks Notice: Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock star as a very, very rich man and his lawyer. When she quits, and he replaces her with Alicia Witt, she reconsiders. Written and directed by Marc Lawrence (The Out-of-Towners). PG-13. Cinema World. Cinemark. Wild Thornberrys, The: In this animated film, Eliza Thornberry (Lacey Chabert), a girl who talks to and understands animals, goes to Africa with her parents, nature filmmakers, and her best friend, a chimp. Other voices: Rupert Everett, Marisa Tomei, Tim Curry, Brenda Blethyn, Lynn Redgrave and Obba Babatunde. Directed by Jeff McGrath and Cathy Malkasian. PG. Cinema World. Cinemark. XXX: Vin Diesel and Samuel L. Jackson star in this athletic spy thriller directed by Rob Cohen. PG-13. Movies 12. MOVIE
THEATERS Bijou
Art Cinemas Regal
Cinemas Cinemark
Theaters
Good Girl, The: Jennifer Aniston, Zooey Deschanel, Jake Gyllenhaal, John C. Reilly, Tim Blake Nelson and Mike White star in Michael Arteta's blue collar romantic comedy. Highly recommended, despite its flawed ending. R. Online archives. Martin Lawrence Live: Runteldat: New routines by the Bad Boy of Comedy include personal anecdotes as well as social commentary. R. Our Song: Jim McKay's highly acclaimed film, a realistic drama, explores the lives of three 15 to 16-year old African-American girls from Brooklyn (Kerry Washington, Anna Simpson, Melissa Martinez) as personal issues push them into early adulthood and different paths. Highest recommendations. R. Online archives. Secret Ballot: Written and directed by Babak Payami, based on an idea by Moshen Makhmalbaf, this tale about a national election is set on an island in Iran. Nassim Abdi is an election official who comes to the island to collect everyone's votes before deadline, and Cyrus Abidi is the soldier she recruits as her aide. G. In Farsi, with English subtitles Signs: Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan and starring Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix in this supernatural thriller about crop circles. Also stars Rory Culkin and Abigail Breslin. PG-13. Online archives. Who is Cletis Trout?: Mistaken identity is beaten to a pulp in this Tim Allen, Christian Slater not-so-funny comedy directed by Chris Ver Wiel. Co-stars Richard Dreyfuss, Portia de Rossi and Billy Connolly (Dr. Savian). Extremely referential to other (better) movies. R. Next week: About A Boy, Blue Crush and Undercover Brother.
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